Lofty ambitions

I recently moved to a new room in my house. It so happens that the room into which I moved is somewhat smaller than the previous one, so there was a bit of a connundrum as to how to make the best use of the space. There's also the connundrum that just can't help always looking for ways to make things more efficient, bedroom space included.

One night, shortly before the move, I was struck with a stroke of brilliance: a loft. It took me an extra thirty minutes to get to sleep that night because i was excitedly designing it in my head. The next afternoon I made a rough sketch, which was then refined into a better sketch, which was then refined to an AutoCAD file on my computer (ok, i didn't really do that last part). It was easy enough. Next: a trip to Home Depot.

It was a major plus that I already had the tools for the job: saw and drill. All I had to pick up was the lumber. I made some rough estimates on lengths and figured I'd need nine 2 x 4s and four 1 x 4s. And some screws. Finished (not "rough-cut" or "rough-hewn") 2 x 4s are actually 1 1/2" x 3 3/8" so I figured I could get away with some 3" screws and still have them grip plenty on the other side. Amazingly, it all fit in my little Civic with the seat folded down. I was quite impressed, way to go Honda. Now I'm wishing I had pictures of the process to show just how perfectly it fit. No such luck/prior planning. So moving on...

Once it was all home I began initial measurements and cutting. I decided to do the top as a platform of 1 x 2s (kind of like a pallet) on rails of 2 x 4s. Cut those, then cut the legs and some triangle braces, then carried it all up to my new room (the whole setup would have been awkward to build in the basement and then carry up to the room, so instead I just brought up the pieces and built it there). First I built the "platform", then flipped it upside-down and added the legs and braces.

The braces were tricky. You've got to have them to make the thing stable, and you want to make sure that when you screw them in, everything's good and square so it's not imbalanced or skewed off-kilter. I don't trust my eye to do a very good job of that, so I made a few little makeshift plumb-bobs by tying a drill bit to one end of a piece of dental floss and a pushpin to the other end. Sticking the pushpins into the wood, I could see if the legs were plumb (vertical) by how well they matched the dental floss line. My roommate held everything steady and once it was plumb, in went the screws for the braces. Another important point for any future do-it-yourselfers out there: pre-drill the holes, especially if they're near the edge of the board you're drilling. Usually you want the pre-drilled hole to be just a little smaller than the screw you intend to put in it, to make sure the screw doesn't crack the board when you put it in, but also fits snugly. It's also worth while to put two screws at every point you're connecting things; keeps it all more stable.

Got the whole thing done, turned it back right-side up and voila! Except I only had about two and a half feet between the mattress and the ceiling. The legs were a little long. So I flipped it all back over and cut off a few inches and voila again! Good to go. I have to admit, I'm quite pleased with myself over it.

Finished product (pre-leg-chopping):